1) Filed of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to a device which is to be connectable to a rope which facilitates grasping of the rope to assist in rapid forceful pulling of the rope.
2) Description of the Prior Art
It is often necessary for humans to hold on to a rope and pull on it with a substantial amount of force in order to place a tensile loading on the rope. Sports such as sailing for example, utilize ropes in conjunction with the sails which are to be pulled in order to properly set the sail, raise the sail or like operations associated with the sail. Pulling directly on the rope by the hands of the human can cause injury to the hands. At the very least, the direct pulling of the rope by one's hands is not conducive to ease of operation.
In the past, numerous devices have been constructed to pull ropes. These devices vary from simple, hand-held items to more complicated devices such as winches and windlasses. The fact that such devices within the prior art are complicated has resulted in such devices not experiencing widespread usage resulting in the individual pulling directly on the rope itself.
The normal way for increasing tension in the hand pulling of a rope is to wrap the rope around the hand, pull the rope a short distance, unwrap the rope and move the hand forward on the rope, rewrap and repull and repeat until the required length of rope has been pulled. This wrapping and unwrapping slows down the rope pulling operation and can bruise the puller's hand.